The present invention relates to an agricultural working machine with an electronic display unit.
Publication DE 198 05 133 A1 discloses an electronic display and/or operating device with a display and status display fields, in the case of which the use of certain symbols makes it possible for the operating state or out-of-operation state of different working units to be displayed in the same display field. According to the invention, the out-of-operation state of a working unit is indicated, e.g., by the symbol of a line passing through the particular working unit, the line being located above the symbol provided. On the other hand, the operating state of a working unit is indicated, e.g., when a display assigned to the symbol provided illuminates. In this manner, no additional symbols are used to display the operating state or out-of-operation state. Additional symbols would reduce the amount of space available in the display. Various buttons used to switch the working units on and off are located in the display.
The disadvantage of a display structure of this type is the fact that the driver of an agricultural working machine is limited in terms of the information displayed—the driver is only shown the operating state or the out-of-operation state of the working units shown. No additional information may be provided, e.g., in the form of additional display fields appearing in the display.
Publication EP 1 031 263 A discloses a device for controlling working parameters of agricultural working machines. The control includes a control and regulating unit, to which a control terminal, sensors, and actuators are connected. The operator enters the operating parameters of the working machine using the control terminal. A display unit is also connected to the control terminal. Various operating modes may be displayed, e.g., a normal operating mode, a set-up operating mode used at start-up to enter parameters, and an emergency operating mode. The specific manner in which the parameters appear in the display unit, and the way to input information and perform adjustments, in particular, are not described in detail, however.
Due to the growing complexity of agricultural working or harvesting machines, such as combine harvesters or forage harvesters, which include a lot of equipment for processing crop material—the operating parameters of which must be adapted to changing harvesting conditions in the working or harvesting mode—these harvesting machines include display and/or operating devices, with which all operating parameters or any other type of machine information may be visualized in the display area and changed using input means. The operating parameters are stored in functionality windows in the display area. Due to the large number of operating parameters to be monitored and adjusted, it is known that a central operating device may be used to activate and adjust all of the parameters shown in the display area. Experienced operators typically have no problem reading all of the working parameters and other machine information and adjusting them, if necessary, using the central operating device.
In the harvesting mode of agricultural harvesting machines in particular, it is often necessary for the operator to repeatedly adjust certain operating parameters, due to changing harvesting conditions. In this case, operators with little or no experience often become overwhelmed due to the large number of operating parameters shown in the display area, and they must repeatedly search—using the central operating device—for the operating parameters displayed in the functionality windows—which requires a relatively great deal of time—in order to be able to make the desired changes to the operating parameters. As a result, the operator is distracted from the actual control of the harvesting machine, and/or he makes the necessary adjustments too late or not at all, with the end result being a less successful harvest.